Lorain County Community College in Elyria is helping cement Ohio's reputation as the home of sensor technology innovation.
The school recently established the SMART (Sensor/Microsystems Advanced packaging and Reliability Testing) Center to help device developers accomplish critical tasks they usually have performed out of state: advanced packaging, reliability testing and advanced life simulation. It received a $5.5 million grant from the
Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering at Cleveland State University for equipment and technical support for the center.
Four entities are SMART Center partners already:
Acense LLC in Twinsburg, which is developing a sensor focused on early fault warning for oil-immersed electrical equipment;
R.W. Beckett Corp. in North Ridgeville, which makes commercial and residential oil and gas burners;
GreenField Solar in Oberlin, maker of scalable solar power products capable of simultaneously generating electric power and heat; and
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Jack W. Harley, founder and president of Acense, says he is enthusiastic about the SMART Center and sees it "being very valuable to us." The center currently is testing packaging concepts for an Acense sensor; later it will test that sensor's long-term characteristics. Harley says that sensor is part of what will be a whole line of products and he expects to use the center for each one.
Harley's not the only executive predicting long-term benefits of the center.
"The SMART Center offers companies affordable access to important services," Kevin Beckett, president of R.W. Beckett Corp., says. Plus, "it raises the visibility of sensor technology overall, which is likely to spark innovation in Northeastern Ohio."
Beckett calls the SMART Center "a huge, huge plus for the area."
Sources: Tracy Green, Lorain County Community College; Kevin Beckett, R. W. Beckett Corp.; Jack W. Harley, Acense
Writer: Gabriella Jacobs